DIY Hair Color, Yay or Nay - Tip of the Day!

We were lucky enough to score an interview with some lovely ladies, Nikki and Riawna, from the Ken Paves Salon in Hollywood. Between the two of them, they have tons of experience, an amazing knowledge bank on the topic, and a crazy client list to boot (think Lindsay Lohan, Colin Farrell, and Eva Longoria). So I rolled what we got from these two into a week's worth of tips so you can look like you just walked out of the Ken Paves Salon. 

In the wake of the recession many of us are turning to at-home color to keep up with our hair maintenance on a dime. But Riawna and Nikki say no way! "Nine times out of ten it doesn't work," Riawna says. "We just don't recommend it. Too many times women have damaged their own hair doing it." And it's not just a marketing ploy to get you into the salon. Here's why you should either not color your hair period or splurge on a trip to the salon.

"If you're brown and you want a darker brown, okay, not a big deal," says Nikki. "But the at home stuff is so strong that it doesn't come out and is very hard for a stylist to remove." 

"And most at-home kits use 20 volume developers which is used to cover grays. Most people, unless they really are gray, don't need a color that harsh. Not even close!" says Riawna. 

"Look, people do at-home color for two reasons. For financial reasons or because they have gray hair." says Nikki. "If you're going to an honest colorist, they need to set you up with a color that will suit your lifestyle." 

"Exactly," says Riawna. "Say, 'I can only come in every 10 weeks. ' I wouldn't set someone up with a full head of highlights or something that grows out if they tell me that. You need to sit down and have a consultation. As a paying client, you need to demand it!"

"And," adds Nikki, "if you don't want the maintenance, can't afford it, and don't have grays, have your stylist dye your hair back to its natural color and let it grow out. It's so much better than doing it yourself." 

For more tips from the Ken Paves Salon, check this out!

Filed in shoes on Friday, April 16, 2010 · No Comments »

Charlotte Russe Bought by Advent

A private equity firm finalized its purchase of Charlotte Russe. Photo: CharlotteRusse.com
					
						

						 Filed in shoes on   · No Comments » 				
			
	
				
					
cbtq Balenciaga Sues Steve Madden Over ‘LEGO’ Heel
				
					
Steve Madden may have to reconsider its designer-inspired shoes.
After being sued by Alexander McQueen earlier this year, the trendy mass shoemaker is now facing a copyright infringement suit over Balenciaga’s “LEGO” heels, reports Cityfile.
The French luxury house slapped Madden with the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Eastern New York.
According to the court documents, soon after Balenciaga’s multicolored peep-toe heels from the Fall 2007 collection were released, Steve Madden issued its own (more affordable) look-alike version, says the source.
As part of its courtroom argument, Balenciaga points to Madden’s alleged shady past: “Defendant Steve Madden’s reputation for producing knock-offs of full price luxury designs further corroborates Defendant’s deliberate pattern of willful infringement and unfair competition.”
While, we’re all for wallet-friendly fashion, has Madden gone too far with this runway replica? 
How do you feel about lower-priced labels taking inspiration directly from high-end designers? Leave a comment!
Lawsuits have clearly been in style this year. Check out other fashionable courtroom dramas of 2009.

Balenciaga Sues Steve Madden Over 'LEGO' Heels

Balenciaga's 'LEGO' heel (left) vs. Steve Madden's multicolored buckle heel (right). Photo: www.heels.com










					
						

						 Filed in shoes on Thursday, April 15, 2010  · No Comments » 				
			
	
				
					
jbwi ‘Project Runway’ Recap – Michael Kors Returns
				
					
For Episode 7 of “Project Runway,” it’s was to 10 designers and the stakes were high. 
In the challenge, the contestants had to work in pairs and create two looks in blue that reflect Macy’s I.N.C International Concepts brand. Even better, the winner will get to design a dress for Macy’s I.N.C holiday collection.
While everyone was psyched about the opportunity to create for a name brand (”This is the best challenge that any designer could ever hope for,” said Irina Shabayeva ), they weren’t thrilled about working in teams. This was evident when the pairs ran around willy-nilly at Mood trying to choose fabric.
The twosomes didn’t exactly gel for the most part. Edwardian-leaning team leader Louise Black and no-nonsense Nicolas Putvinski were especially mismatched, mostly due to Louise’s penchant for ruffles. “I hate ruffles. I believe that ruffles were made to hide flaws,” Putvinski declared disdainfully. 
Likewise, team leader Irina Shabayeva and Gordana Gelhausen are like oil and water. “She doesn’t give me any direction. She just says: ‘I don’t like it,’” Gelhausen complained.
Only team leader Christopher Straub and Epperson, both of whom did well in last week’s movie-themed challenge, seem to have any sort of synergy, “I think that Epperson and I are the dream team,” Straub declared, “I think we’ll take this one.” 
When Tim Gunn makes his workroom appearance, he only says that the designers have an opportunity for “serious reinvention” — not exactly a ringing endorsement. 
And as far as judging, team chemistry was definitely not an indicator of winning or losing. Shabayeva walked away with her second win in the competition with her floaty striped chevron sundress and shirred light blue top with navy skirt, but not before slightly throwing Gelhausen under the bus. 
Surprisingly, Carol Hannah Whitfield and Shirin Askari took second place with bland and poorly sewn pieces. Shabayeva had earlier dismissed them as “discount store.”
And Straub and Epperson were severely taken to task — for their striped shirtdress and shiny tunic — by returning judge Michael Kors, who gave his critique with particular zeal: “The shirtdress looks like a tablecloth and the teal charmeuse looks like a disco pumpkin. Did you think they went together? They don’t.” Straub, heartbreakingly burst into tears, from shock, no doubt.
Black also was berated for her overuse of ruffles. Kors dismissed one particularly ruffled look with, “This looks like a bridesmaid dress with shower sponge ruched up the front.”
It looked like both Straub and Black would be going. “I honestly don’t know what was worse — the disco pumpkin or the shower curtain nightie,” Heidi Klum opined. But in the end, only Black took the final bow for her overly frilly dresses. 
Heidi Klum pronounced Black’s team member Putvinski to be “very lucky.” He had seemed content with his immunity to sit back and let Black sink. Straub’s past accomplishments no doubt played into his stay.
Check out Shabayeva’s holiday dress at Macys.com/projectrunway.
Tune into “Project Runway” Thursdays at 10 PM ET/PT on LIfetime, then catch our post-show recap here.

















'Project Runway' Recap - Michael Kors Returns and Designers Sing the Blues




Louise Black just couldn't cut it. Photo: MyLifetime.com
					
						

						 Filed in shoes on Wednesday, April 14, 2010  · No Comments » 				
			
	
				
					
vzqs Dialogue on Laos and Vietnam_249
				
					
Despite these differences, the process of economic development in Laos and Vietnam is similar in important ways. In both states, we see a growing disparity between urban and rural, haves and have-nots, rich and poor, power brokers and the powerless. And in both states, Communist Party members are the most egregious offenders, responsible for much of the corruption and waste prevalent in both systems. 
On the other hand, Laos and Vietnam have marched in political lockstep since the end of the Second Indochina War in 1975 when both countries implemented ?socialist? revolutions. Enjoying a close personal relationship before war’s end, the Communist leaderships of Laos and Vietnam maintained their ?special relationship? in the postwar period. The late Lao president and Communist leader Kaysone Phomvihane in the colorful language he often employed, once suggested the Laotian-Vietnamese relationship was as close as lips and teeth. But it was never an equal relationship. Vietnam is the traditional patron, with Laos in the subordinate role, seeking political guidance together with financial and military aid from its dominant neighbor to the east.  
Dialogue on Laos and Vietnam





Ronald Bruce St John and Andrew Wells-Dang | December 28, 2006 
Politically, Laos and Vietnam remain societies marked by sharp contrasts between economic openness and political repression, modernity and tradition, capitalism and communism. In Laos, the central problem remains a rigid, elitist political system that has made poor economic decisions over the last three decades out of ignorance and a determination to retain political power. Vietnam is different only in that a rigid, elitist political system, determined to retain political power, has made better economic decisions in the last two decades. In denial on human rights issues, both states face the challenge of implementing sociopolitical reforms concomitant with economic reforms in place or on the horizon. Given their ?special relationship? since 1975, where Laos has generally followed Vietnamese policy initiatives, it is up to Vietnam to lead the way. 










At a minimum, regional variation across Asia supports the conclusion that market capitalism and democracy do not always go neatly hand in hand. A stronger, more controversial thesis is that there might even be some positive correlation between state involvement and economic growth. If this is true, it should lead us to question the entire growth-first development model in favor of a more nuanced understanding of the quality and distribution of development, as I attempt for Vietnam. These country-specific social realities matter more to the outcomes of reform than any single political variable. 
                        Ronald Bruce St John, an analyst for Foreign Policy in Focus (www.fpif.org), has published extensively on Southeast Asian issues for almost three decades. He is the author of Revolution, Reform and Regionalism in Southeast Asia: Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam (Routledge, 2006). FPIF contributor Andrew Wells-Dang is Deputy Country Representative of Catholic Relief Services in Hanoi. The views expressed in this article are his own.                                Recommended Citation:

Having been a frequent visitor to Laos over the last decade, I concur with much of Ronald Bruce St John’s mixed analysis of the Lao reform experience. I also agree that economics and politics are intrinsically related elements of social reality. St John’s emphasis on the Lao PDR’s one-party, authoritarian structure, however, does not go far enough to explain why Laos has not benefited from economic reforms to the same extent as its neighbors with similar political systems. 
When comparing the Lao People’s Democratic Republic with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, one is immediately struck by the socioeconomic differences separating these two Southeast Asian neighbors. Geographically, Vietnam is 40% larger than landlocked Laos and enjoys five times as much arable land, including some of the richest rice-growing areas in the world. With a population of around 85 million people, Vietnam has over 13 times as many people as tiny Laos; and Vietnam’s GDP, in terms of purchasing power parity, is estimated to be almost 20 times larger than Laos. 
Ronald Bruce St John and Andrew Wells-Dang, “Dialogue on Laos and Vietnam” (Washington, DC: Foreign Policy In Focus, December 19, 2006)
A broader question is whether Laos’s lackluster performance provides sufficient evidence of ?real limits to a development model that combines single party rule with market economics.? Like it or not, I don’t see immediate limits to this combination in countries such as China, Singapore, or Vietnam. Historically, some of the strongest economic growth in Asia has taken place under dictatorships of various political stripes, such as Park’s South Korea, Chiang’s Taiwan, or Suharto’s Indonesia?while repressive regimes under Ferdinand Marcos, Ne Win, and Pol Pot performed poorly. (All of these states had more serious human rights issues than Laos today.) At best, one can claim that dictatorships with better economic records are more likely to be replaced by democratic governments later. But democratic systems have a mixed economic record of their own, from Japan’s prosperity to Bangladesh’s penury with many results in between. Another variable is corruption, which can occur in fast- and slow-growing economies, as well as in both democratic and authoritarian political systems?with single-party, authoritarian, prosperous, market-oriented Singapore at the cleanest end of the corruption spectrum. 
                                                               






Response from Andrew Wells-Dang 
One salient feature is Laos’s human geography. With 6 million people, it is a small fraction of Vietnam (at 82 million), let alone China, without the according economies of scale, transport connections, or domestic market opportunities. The diverse array of ethnic groups in Laos is a potential development asset but also a limiting factor to national cohesion. It is further worth remembering that the portions of Laos inhabited by ethnic minorities are precisely those areas that the United States bombed into oblivion during the ?Vietnam? War, with significant and ongoing postwar development effects in the form of unexploded ordnance. Also as a result of the war, the vast majority of the (small) pre-revolutionary elite left the country after 1975?unlike Vietnam, where this was only true for a portion of the urban southern elite. 
Given this situation, it shouldn’t come as any great surprise that the Lao PDR government is concerned about keeping control over society. But this reflects the relative weakness of the state, not an excess of power. Beyond Vientiane and key provincial capitals, state capacity is frequently too low to provide basic social services, let alone serve as an engine for equitable economic growth. In spite of close political links with the Vietnamese Communist Party, the Lao PDR authorities haven’t been able to achieve the same level of development outcomes as Vietnam, and as a result find themselves still heavily dependent on foreign assistance?as was, to an even greater extent, the multi-party Royal Lao Government that preceded them. 
As Andrew Wells-Dang points out, Vietnam has experienced surprisingly strong economic growth since it concluded a bilateral trade agreement with the United States in 2001. With ratification of the country’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the recent U.S. congressional vote to grant permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to Vietnam, this high level of growth looks set to continue. In contrast, economic growth in Laos, which started from a significantly lower base, has been less impressive. Moreover, Laos continues a pattern of aid dependency that dates back to independence in 1953. The U.S. Congress granted Laos normal trade status in November 2004, but it is likely years away from either PNTR status or WTO membership. 
I don’t mean to imply that Laos isn’t changing. It is, drastically?but more at the borders than at the center. Along the Mekong, the economy and society are increasingly influenced by (military, authoritarian, capitalistic) Thailand, right across the river. In the east, Vietnamese influence is paramount; in the north, Chinese. From many places in Laos, it’s easier to trade, travel, receive TV signals, and even buy basic services like electricity from across the border than from a neighboring province. Rather than producing and exporting on its own, Laos is largely providing transit services for others along the new regional ?economic corridors.? 
Lao culture, however, has remained intact. I am hesitant to generalize about cultural differences, but many Lao (and Vietnamese) are willing to offer up such useful distinctions as ?the Vietnamese die of overwork, while the Lao die of pride,? or ?the Vietnamese plant rice, while the Lao listen to the rice grow.? In one view, perhaps, the sabai-sabai (take-it-easy) Lao lack ambition; in another, they are enjoying their ?Gross National Happiness,? remaining polite and friendly, and not worrying too much about economic problems. How critical can we really be of a country where the only state enterprise that makes a profit is Beer Lao? 
Response from Ronald Bruce St John 
					
						

						 Filed in shoes on Saturday, April 3, 2010  · No Comments » 				
			
	
				
					
ogef CNET News Daily Podcast- iPhone apps and SMS
				
					
Cisco: Text message scams on the rise
More than 1.5 billion apps have been downloaded from Apple’s store
Blockbuster OnDemand coming to Samsung TVs, home theaters
Attacks on U.S., Korea sites pegged to U.K. server










Also discussed: Blockbuster OnDemand is coming to a Samsung TV near you; Microsoft announces Azure pricing; and attacks on U.S., Korea sites pegged to U.K. server.
CNET News Daily Podcast: iPhone apps and SMS phishing






On Tuesday, Apple announced that more than 1.5 billion applications have been downloaded from its app store. We also get CNET’s security expert, Elinor Mills, in the studio to talk about a new phishing scam that’s tricking people into giving up their bank account information via SMS text message.
Download today’s podcast



Today’s stories:
   Josh Lowensohn writes for Webware.com, CNET’s blog about Web applications and services. E-mail Josh, or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/Josh.






Microsoft announces Azure pricing, details

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